In today's edition of Interviews from Havana, program host Cristina Escobar talks with Lizt Alfonso, choreographer and director of the world famous Cuban dance company of the same name. Alfonso directs an independent ballet school with 1,000 students of all ages and on all levels, an academy open to all those who are interested. She discusses her experience at the school and its origins in Cuba's special period in 1991 with so many financial constraints; its transition from a Spanish dance company to a company with a more varied and international focus and enjoying a unique position in the world; its fusion of different dance styles including classical, Afro-Cuban, and popular Cuban; the professional selection process; the collaboration with Enrique Iglesias in the videoclip "Bailando"; support provided by the Cuban government and leaders such as Fidel Castro and Havana city historian Eusebio Leal to the ballet company and the arts; motivating young Cubans to stay in the country and contribute to culture and society; and her outlook for the future. teleSUR